"Alrighty then, I think I've done everything there is to be done. It's time to open the labyrinth." Axel stretched, a satisfied grin on his face. After thoroughly testing Sylva's numerous abilities, particularly her morphing powers, he decided it was finally time to welcome his first visitors.
[Understood, Master Axel. The teleportation circle has been activated. A group of adventurers has been detected within the vicinity of the device. They should arrive within minutes.]
---
Meanwhile…
"Ugh, do you really think there's anything of value out here? We've been searching for a couple hours already." A bald-headed man sighed, frustration evident in his tone.
"Of course there is! That merchant told me it was somewhere in this area. We just need to keep looking!" A bright-eyed youth retorted, brimming with enthusiasm.
"Grrr, don't you think you got scammed by that merchant?" the redheaded girl questioned, clearly annoyed from the thought that they were doing all this for nothing.
"Agreed." The quiet man in the group chimed in, with displeasure clearly etched on his face.
"Come on, guys! I'm a regular at that merchant's shop. Surely he wouldn't dupe me. We just need to look—HAAAARDER!" At the end of his sentence, the youth's foot suddenly slipped on loose ground, sending him tumbling down a concealed cave entrance hidden beneath the grass. His companions stood frozen for a moment before rushing after him.
After rolling down the slope for what felt like ages, the youth finally landed on a flat ground. "Ow… that hurt." He groaned, taking a couple of moments to assess himself. "Thank the Aethers, no broken bones."
"Hey! You okay down there?" The bald man's voice echoed from above before the group slid down to join him.
"I'm fine! But look at this!" The youth pointed excitedly toward the end of the cave, where a large, glowing circle was etched into the floor, accompanied by an ornate pedestal.
"Ha! What did I tell you? We just needed to try harder!" The youth grinned. "Hey, Rika, any idea what this is?"
Rika knelt beside the circle, her fiery red hair falling over her shoulders as she inspected it closely. "Hmm, if I'm not mistaken, this should be a teleportation circle," she explained. "It probably leads to… somewhere."
"Somewhere dangerous or somewhere bountiful?" the bald man asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Either way, I say we check it out!" The youth, ever the optimist, stepped onto the circle, signaling his companions to follow.
"Let's hope this doesn't end badly," Rika muttered as she activated the circle. Moments later, the group vanished in a burst of mystical light.
---
[Teleportation circle activated. Intruders detected.]
"Alright, let's see how they fare against my traps and monsters," Axel murmured, retrieving the observer's mirror from his storage ring. With Sylva nestled comfortably in his hand, he settled into his chair to watch the group's progress.
---
As the adventurers appeared in the labyrinth's first room, they unsheathed their weapons and scanned their surroundings with caution.
"It's clear for now," the bald man said, relaxing his grip on his axe.
"Hey, Rika, any clue where we are?" the youth asked eagerly.
"Don't just assume I know everything," Rika snapped and gave the youth the side eye, though she relented after a pause. "If I had to guess, we're in a labyrinth."
The youth's eyes lit up. "You mean like the ones in the stories? With trials and treasures at the end?"
"Maybe. But let's not get ahead of ourselves," the bald man interjected. "There could be danger around every corner."
"Agreed," the quiet man added, his voice barely audible.
With that, the group moved cautiously down the hallway. They triggered a few traps—arrows and pitfalls—but their vigilance kept them unharmed. At the end of the hall, they reached the gate, opening it revealed a hallway leading to another gate. Presumably the second room.
Halfway through traversing the hallway, the quiet man at the rear let out a bloodcurdling scream. "ARRGH!" A jet of venom struck his back, searing through his armor and burning his skin. His vision blurred, and he stumbled, panic overtaking him.
"Johnny! What's happening?!" the youth shouted, spinning around to help, but it was too late. A Void Crawler emerged from the shadows, its mandibles sinking into Johnny's neck. Just as it prepared to finish him off, Johnny's body vanished, leaving the creature blinking back into its hiding spot as the youth's sword narrowly missed it.
"Crap! Where's Johnny?!" The youth was visibly shaken, his grip on his weapon unsteady.
"Don't just stand there! We need to move—NOW! Flash!" Rika shouted, casting a blinding flash of light with her staff to stun the Void Crawlers lurking in the darkness. The group sprinted toward the next room, slamming the gate shut behind them.
Panting heavily, the youth leaned against the wall. "Johnny… he's gone…"
"Snap out of it!" Rika admonished the youth. "We didn't see him die. There's still a chance he's alive somewhere in this labyrinth."
The second room was smaller, half the size of the first room to be specific, with a single chest sitting conspicuously in the center. "For now, let's keep pressing on, maybe there's a chance Johnny is still in here somewhere." the bald man said, stepping forward cautiously. Thanks to Rika's detection magic, they navigated the traps with ease and reached the chest. Without thinking too much, the bald man opened it.
"What the—?!" His words were cut short as the mimic's jaws suddenly expanded and snapped shut around him, swallowing him whole.
"Fira!" Rika reacted instantly, launching a fire spell that engulfed the mimic in flames. The creature writhed in agony before collapsing, dead.
The youth stared in horror. "H-he's gone too…"
Rika took a deep breath, forcing herself to remain calm. "There's no time to mourn. If we want to survive, we need to keep moving."
And then there were two.